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How many of us struggle to express what it is that we want? We stumble the moment we are asked to verbalise our deepest wants and wishes.

For many, it’s that we don’t know what we want; we have yet to figure that out. For some, the head and the heart are conflicted, and we spend our lives in a state of doubt and confusion. For others, it is that we are too afraid to express ourselves for fear of what others might think. But as Robert Louis Stevenson reminds us; “To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.” If we are to claim the life of freedom and fulfillment that is rightfully ours, then we are to trust in our intuition. We must develop a deep, unwavering faith in our ability to know what keeps our soul alive; to know what it is we want from life, and to go after it. It begins with knowing oneself.

To know oneself, we must be willing to become still, to listen to our hearts. To reside in a place of integrity. It is to speak up for what we believe in, to stand up and be counted, regardless of what others may think, and to be true. Today, be true to yourself. Make a promise to get acquainted with all that you are, the multi faceted you who is perfectly whole and complete.

There comes a time when we must be free. Free from the binds of the past and the limitations it has imposed upon us.

Have you been feeling trapped or misaligned from your truth? Maybe you relinquished control to another? Did you compromise on your values in order to keep the peace? We may lose our way momentarily and forget who we are, forget all that we stand for – but it is time to let go of all that. It is time to forgive ourselves. For it can happen to the best of us.

As we become attuned to our deepest selves we begin to recognise the ways in which we feel limited or constrained. In what ways have we handed over our power? In what ways have we sacrificed our own sense of joy and happiness to avoid rocking the boat?

Today make peace with yourself. Make a firm promise to never settle for anything less than your own self-respect and integrity. Now is the time to take back control of your life – to rewrite your story, to step into your truth and reclaim your forgotten sense of freedom. You are entitled to be free. So free yourself. ‘Stand up and walk out of your history.’

Too often we hear, “It’s not my problem… Let them deal with it.” It seems far easier to turn a blind eye than to reach out a helping hand. But must we ever underestimate the power of a kind word or gesture, however great or small our offering?

If our hands were not made to reach out and heal, then for what were they created? To destroy? To harm? To dismiss? When we use our hands to prepare food, it is to nourish and heal our bodies; when we make work of our hands, it is to provide for others through service and exchange; when our hands are used to lift and carry, it is to move and lighten the heavy load. The same is true on an emotional level. We possess the power to lift each other up, to provide, to nourish and to heal. So why wouldn’t we?

‘We rise by lifting others.’

– Robert. G. Ingersoll.

Our greatness is not measured by how much we earn, what we can achieve or how far we can get ahead, but by the love and joy we share with others. Today, let us not hurry or dismiss, may we be attuned to the needs of others and may we reach out. Because ‘if we don’t help each other, who will?’

Whilst it is perfectly acceptable to wear diamonds on our neck, and I begrudge no one for doing so – I am with Emma Goldman, in that there is much beauty to be found in the simple.

For some, it is the taste of rich, dark chocolate and a full bodied red after a hard day’s work. Maybe it is the sweet pop of cherries bursting in our mouths on a long, hot summers day? Or the soft podgy padding of an infant’s hand reminding us of the sweetness of innocence?

Whatever our ‘roses on the table’ may be, may we revere and savour the simple, and remember that we needn’t wear diamonds on our necks to experience the richness of life.